PHOTO PROMPT © J Hardy Carroll
Martha sat, rocking, smiling into the sunlight streaming through window.
John sat in the far corner, unnoticed and forgotten for the moment.
Elisabeth tiptoed in and handed John the album. Martha didn’t notice.
John flipped to a random page. A beautiful young woman in a military nurse’s uniform smiled up at him. England, 1945.
He glanced at Martha.
Another random page and there was his and Elisabeth’s mom as a baby. 1951.
Another page. Paris, 1979.
Another page, another memory.
“It’s all there, but the storage doors are locked.”
John looked up. Elisabeth was watching Martha, tears in her eye.
***
Word count = 100
Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. This week’s prompt is here and uses a photo © J Hardy Carroll. Read more or join in by following the InLinkz “linky“.
Trent's World (the Blog) 
Excellent, if painful, capture of a situation all of us hope will never come our way. Alas, some of us will find our hope crushed.
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Thanks Gary. Yes, we all not only hope it doesn’t come our way personally, but to those we love as well.
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Great imagining of the prompt.
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Thanks.
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My mother died in the end… robbed of almost everything… speech and mobility… but I think she could hear me sometimes.
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It is such an awful end for a life. I’m sorry you had to experience it with your mother.
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Poignant syory about an illness that robs everyone.
Beautifully told, Trent. An illness none of us want to get.
Have a great weekend…
Isadora😎
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Thanks, Isadora. it is a disease that we do not want to see our loved ones get either. Have a great weekend :)
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Oh yes, for sure. I have a friend – who no longer is a friend – because she doesn’t know who I am. It’s difficult to imagine being in that state of mind. ~~~ : – (
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Very hard on everyone…
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Dementia is one of the worst ways to end, but the photographs do leave something behind of a life well lived. Sad and well told.
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It is an awful way to end a life, since in ways the person is gone before the body dies. Thanks.
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Sadly yes, sometimes memories get locked away. Touching story Trent.
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It is sad, and that one person’s memory can effect a lot of people. Thanks.
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It’s very sad when thinking of those whose memories are locked away from them. My dad has dementia and gets very frustrated from time to time. When he has his clearest moments, he wants to ramble on, which we of course encourage him to do. I love it when that happens!! Sensitively written, Trent.
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I am sorry about your dad. I know it is hard for everyone involved. A lot of “it” still seems to be there in people like your dad who have their lucid, totally here moments, so maybe someday somebody can find that key to unlock it and let them be themselves all of the time…
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I sincerely hope so, what a wonderful gift to humankind if someone did discover such a key.
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I was thisclose to going down the same path. Don’t think I would have done such a wonderful job, though.
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Thanks, Dale :) This idea was the first think that jumped out at me from the prompt.
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So I’m glad I didn’t…
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I’m sure it would have been fine, but I like where you ended up :)
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Still – it’s nice when our stories are unique, don’t you think?
And I am very glad you liked where I ended up.
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It is nice to be unique and to read unique stories.
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I know I strive for it!!
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A moving tale, and a wonderful use of the prompt.
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Thanks
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Martha is suffering from memory loss. An apt analogy for memory trapped inside with key to the lock lost.
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Thanks. Yes, sometimes we wish we can find those keys…
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What a clever take on the prompt. What a devastating reality that so many live. Sometimes the ‘lid’ lifts and some memory, a recognition, a whiff of the person who once was known, shows itself … then gone. Back under the lock of lost connections and diminished brain. …
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Thanks. It is awful. Luckily it hasn’t hit too close to home. Those little glimpses at the person who was once there gives some hope that we may some day find a way to if not reverse it, to at least minimize the worst of it.
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This is a great view of optimism. Yes, may we one day soon find a way to not only stop the devastation of dementia but to also reverse some of it so that people can return to who they had the choice to be before …
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Clever piece Trent, dementia is awful, i’ve only seen it first hand once that I can remember, but I worry about my folks.
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I’ve only seen it a few times, and not too close – my parents are in their 80s and still sharp, so hopefully… Thanks.
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Bittersweet story. Excellent take on the photo prompt, Trent.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
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Thanks.
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I love this. Another kind of storage, only no one has the key to the lock.
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Thanks. Hopefully some day they will find a key for when these doors are locked…
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Clever metaphor, Trent, and sensitively written piece
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Thanks
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Beautiful story of a life filled with love and fun.
miriam
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Thanks.
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This brought tears to my eyes, Trent. But sometimes those doors open back up for very brief moments. I know, having gone through it with my Mom.
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Thanks. I’m sorry you had to go through it with your mom. I’m lucky – my parents are in their 80s put still pretty sharp.
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Oooh, this is very poignant, Trent.
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Thanks, Robbie.
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A touching story of a life lived to the full.
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Thanks, Iain.
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Dear Trent,
Touching story. Alzheimer’s is the cruelest of diseases.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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It is an awful disease – our minds and memories are what make us “us”…. Thanks.
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